Issue: 1145 Date: 8/2/2012
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Home sales rise in St. Louis

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Sales of St. Louis homes, both new and existing, rose in June, providing more evidence that the housing market here is healing.

The St. Louis Association of Realtors reported 1,651 sales of existing homes last month in St. Louis city and county, up from 1,538 a year earlier.

Sales of existing homes have been increasing for 13 months.

Sales in St. Charles County rose to 478 in June from 402 in June of last year.

Home prices have bottomed out, said Glenn Vatterott, the association president. He noted that the region has a seven-month supply of homes on the market, down from 10 months at the start of 2010. A six month supply is considered a balanced market, with no advantage to buyer or seller.

The Realtors reported that the median sale price of existing homes rose 4 percent to $143,000 in St. Louis city and county. Such figures are not an exact indication of the price trend, since individual houses vary widely. The median is the point where half sold for more and half for less.

Builders took out permits for 258 homes in June, up from 205 a year earlier, in St. Louis, St. Charles, Jefferson, Warren and Lincoln counties and St. Louis city.

New home building is up 26 percent so far this year, according to the Home Builders Association of St. Louis, although the pace is still far below the boom years of the last decade.